President Tim Stone called the meeting to order and welcomed guests Kathleen Secker of Silver Springs, Maryland and Nancy Johnston Bruce of Clifton Park, New York.

Lizette submitted the July 2012 treasurer’s report that reads as follows:

The previous balance as of June 2012: $3,086.86. There were no recent expenses. Deposits were made in the amount of $150. July balance is $3,252.23. Petty cash totals $21.63. Total assets are $3,333.86. Paid members total 68.

It was noted that some members gifted extra money over and above regular $10 annual dues.

To date TIGS has 254 list members and 244 likes on FaceBook. Anyone can post of the FaceBook account. Pictures and scans of records are highly encouraged.

Bill McGrath discussed finished and on-going projects. A summary of his report is as follows: Book Four of St. Mary’s Cemetery interment records – 130 pages have been received from Jeanne of which 64 were sent to transcribers and 55 completed and returned.

The Nail Factory Cemetery is on line. State Street Burial Ground records include an index of 3,683 surnames. These records are in the process of being compiled and cross referenced with various databases including one complied by Kelly Grimaldi and one by Betty Fink.

Church memorials from St. Patrick’s Church in Watervliet and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Troy have recently been added to the database making a total of 17 churches on line.TIGS is currently working on Woodside Presbyterian, Troy, St. Mary’s, Albany, Germaine Presbyterian, Watervliet and the Dutch Reformed Church of Watervliet.

The News Paper Project consists of listing the 209 Rensselaer County Newspapers that were in existence from 1790 to the present time. The goal is to create an alphabetical list of the newspapers, dates in publication and identify which papers are on microfilm and in books housed in the Troy Library and State Library. Jeanne has the Troy Daily Whig newspapers from 1868- 1878 ready to go on line. They include 11.000 death records and 2,000 marriage records.

New Business: Heidi reports the issue of finding a place to host a genealogy expo may be resolved with an offer by the Lansingburgh Library. Carol Fagan offered the library as an option. There is WiFi capability. TIGS needs to choose a day to hold the event and book it with Carol. October and November would be best. Several members offered to volunteer to help on “Genealogy Day”. Anyone else interested in serving once a date is confirmed may contact Tim Stone.

Mimi Nicotina offered an interesting article on sculptor William John Coffee who shows in the Albany City Directory from 1827-1829, 1831-1833 and again in 1838 having been listed in the directory from 1840-1846. This is the time period when Erastus Dow Palmer was making his name as a world renowned sculptor. Coffee’s work is not well documented and his life ended in loneliness and “broken hopes and dreams.”

The Annual Waterford Cultural Festival will be held on August 4 th. It is a daylong event starting at noon and ending at 9 PM. Many tables for local heritage societies will be staffed. Tim will canvass members to see if there is any interest in staffing a table for TIGS. Kris noted she has all the materials at her house i.e. the TIGS banner, brochures and the thumb drive for the website. Tim asked Christine of the Waterford Museum to advertize the festival on TIGS FaceBook page.

Mimi suggested a blog to capture “Memories of Troy”. People could post comments and stories about growing up in Troy. The blog would be inter-active and could be a link on TIGS FaceBook and website.

A motion was made, seconded and carried to create a “Memories of Troy” blog.

Kris pointed out that in order to set up a PayPal account for members to use to pay dues, a charter change is required. Brad looked into setting up the account and he is willing to do the work if bank account numbers are shared with him.

One suggestion regarding dues payments is to set up membership levels: basic membership, family membership, etc. A donor option was also suggested. Most members present expressed approval for the idea but no formal motion was made pending the process of creating a PayPal account.

The question of whether to post member names and payment status on the website was raised. Some considered it a privacy issue and others considered it acceptable as long as it is done voluntarily. Those members who wish to remain anonymous would have that option.

A motion was made, seconded and carried to post member names and dues payment status on the website with permission of each member.

The next TIGS meeting will be held on August 16 th and will consist of a tour of Oakwood Cemetery starting at 6 PM and ending with a tour of the chapel at 7:30 PM. A meeting may be held afterwards.

Kris stated the Mount Ida Preservation Group offered a tour of the church and cemetery to TIGS members if there was interest.

A motion was made, seconded and carried to arrange a tour with the Mount Ida Preservation Group for the church and cemetery located at the top of Congress Street in Troy.